You are inside enemy territory with bullets whizzing by and rocket propelled grenades landing all around you. The smoke-filled air makes it difficult to see and daylight is retreating into the mountains. Your position is compromised, but you fear an ambush around the next corner, so you keep your troops at bay, waiting for air or satellite support. Hoping to get the intel you need to charge forward.
The scenario is all too common in the military and may be eliminated in the immediate future, thanks to the invention of the grenade camera. Dubbed the I-Ball, the device developed for the British Ministry of Defense can be rolled, thrown or grenade-launched into a battlefield to enable soldiers to see into potentially hazardous spots and avoid ambushes. Internal cameras within the I-ball, coupled with a transmission device, relay 360-degree views of the battlefield environment to a screen held by its user.
The grenade-sized I-Ball can be wired or wireless, and is tough enough to withstand the landing, the BBC reports. The advantage of the wire is the ability to retrieve the device easily after use for reuse later.
A sophisticated image analysis system inside the I-Ball, called a Field Programmable Gate Array, compensates for spinning and tumbling and then displays a true 360-degree video image in real time.
Paul Thompson, from Scotland-based firm Dreampact which is developing the I-Ball, is excited over the prospect of perfecting the technology for the British government, despite the I-Ball still being in the early stages of development.
"Although it is in its early stages, we are very excited about the technology's potential to help our troops to be better prepared for battle. "
Director of the Defense Technology and Innovation Centre, Professor Andrew Baird, concurred, calling the technology "an exciting new development that has very significant potential across a range of military equipment and operational scenarios, particularly in difficult urban operations."
Dreampact's progress developing image stabilization techniques could have a ripple effect throughout the military. I-Balls and other camera-types could be widely adopted in use by tanks, aircraft, or unmanned vehicles. And as the I-Ball's versatility allows it to work in extreme temperatures, ranging from -90 degrees F to 111 degrees F, it has great potential for scientific studies.
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